Five people were killed when a tow truck and a car collided Thursday afternoon in rural Heidelberg Township, authorities said.

Four people in the car — three males and one female — and the tow truck driver died in the 2:35 p.m. collision at Mountain and Bake Oven roads, state police at Bethlehem said. A tow truck passenger -- a man -- was injured and taken to Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest.

"The tow truck would have been moving south on Mountain Road," state police Cpl. Mark Rowland said. "The passenger vehicle pulled out from Bake Oven Road and it was struck, and the vehicles went off the roadway."

The vehicles ended up in a swampy area in front of Haak's Tavern at the intersection, about three miles east of Route 309, near Blue Mountain, 15 miles northwest of Allentown.

Police and the Lehigh County coroner's office were trying to reach relatives of the victims Thursday night. The coroner's office had not released names of the victims.

The tow truck was hauling a box truck when the vehicles collided. All three vehicles continued through the intersection, crashing into a utility pole. More than 200 PPL customers in Heidelberg Township lost power.

The car was badly mangled beneath the tow truck, which appeared to have lost its roof. It was unclear if the roof was off because of rescue attempts or from the crash.

About 7:10 p.m. a woman in her 20s stopped at two roadblocks near the accident scene, asking if she could go in because she believed the car driver might be her brother.

She was told she would have to wait. About 45 minutes later, fire police said, a coroner's official went to speak with the woman. About the same time, a young man arrived to ask if his father was driving the tow truck.

Another tow truck was brought in to lift the damaged tow truck, allowing emergency crews to get to the crushed car. All five bodies were removed by 8:45 p.m.

State police still were investigating the accident late Thursday, measuring skid marks and how far the vehicles went after the collision. People at the scene said it appears one of the vehicles ran a stop sign and they collided at the intersection.

A man at the scene who didn't want to be identified said one person was walking around after the crash and was taken to a hospital. He insisted only three people were dead because he said that is all he saw when he tried to help at the scene.

"It wasn't a pretty sight, let me tell you," he said.

For most of the afternoon and early evening, authorities reported four were dead. After the tow truck was moved away from the car, state police said the death count had risen to five.

Another person at the scene said he may know the driver of the tow truck. He said he was familiar with Ironton Auto Body, the name on the truck's side.

Residents of the Mountain Road area said the road has become busier over the last few decades as a popular route for travelers between Carbon County and Allentown.

PPL was still repairing the damage to its power lines and pole late Thursday. By 10 p.m., the number of customers without electricity had dropped to 73.